"The real story is I am going to be 50 in August, and I know people say, 'Oh my goodness, you're this young kid, but I've been doing ths for 31 years. I don't feel like a young kid," Bealefeld said in a one-on-one interview Friday at police headquarters in downtown Baltimore.

News broke Thursday morning that Baltimore's top cop would be stepping down. On Friday, the I-Team asked Fred Bealefeld, Why?

When asked for the "real story" behind his sudden announcement, Bealefeld said it's all about his personal life, characterizing his decision to retire as purely personal.

It was all about family as Bealefeld explained his decision to leave the job of commissioner, a post he has held for the past five years. Bealefeld said he and his family are anxious for change.

"I was absolutely influenced in this decision, and I was influenced in this decision mostly by (wife) Linda and (daughter) Erica Bealefeld, mostly by those two," Bealefeld said. "They're ready. They're ready for me to come home. They're ready for me to do something else."

"My son is a United States Marine in Pensacola Naval Air Station, and I missed a big part of his life. So, I'm anxious. I'm anxious," Bealefeld said, tearing up. "It's tough. Family is tough. I tear up because I miss them. I did this. They were along for the ride. But, you know, this really was my thing, my career and my pursuit and my love for 31 years and I ask them to do a lot," Bealefeld said.

Since 2007, overall gun crime dropped by 24 percent, and, according to the mayor's office, the city recorded the fewest number of homicides in 35 years last year.

Bealefeld began his Baltimore police career as a cadet in 1981, patrolling west Baltimore neighborhoods. He has served in almost all operational units of the department before his appointment to commissioner in 2008.